dentary

American  

[den-tuh-ree] / ˈdɛn tə ri /

noun

Zoology.

plural

dentaries

1. one of a pair of membrane bones that in lower vertebrates form the distal part of the lower jaws and in mammals comprise the mandible.

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Etymology

Origin of dentary

1820–30; < Latin dentārius of the teeth, equivalent to dent- (stem of dēns ) tooth + -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

In mammals, the dentary bone joins the skull at the squamosal bone, while in other vertebrates, the quadrate bone of the jaw joins with the articular bone of the skull.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The lower jaw of mammals consists of only one bone, the dentary.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The teeth are in the dentary bone or bones, and these bones are almost always blended as in most birds and Turtles, and not separate from each other as among Crocodiles, Lizards, and Serpents.

From Dragons of the Air An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles by Seeley, H. G.

The dentary meets the splenial dorsally in a straight suture.

From A New Genus of Pennsylvania Fish (Crossoperygii, Coelacanthiformes) from Kansas by Echols, Joan

The dentary lies external to the angular and extends from the mentomecklian to approximately the mid-length of the angular.

From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by Duellman, William E.